MUNI riders aboard a bus near the corner of Fillmore and Geary Streets in the San Francisco, Calif on Thursday January 28, 2010. With the Municipal Transportation Agency facing a $53 million budget deficit next year, they are considering the following recommendations: reduce the frequency of bus and rail service on most routes, equivalent to a 10 percent cut systemwide; charge Fast Pass users a premium for using express buses or cable cars; double the cost of discounted monthly passes for seniors, youth and the disabled to $30.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

MUNI riders aboard a bus near the corner of Fillmore and Geary...

Image 2 of 3

MUNI passengers wait for the light rail train on Duboce Street at Church in San Francisco Tuesday August 4, 2009

Despite loud complaints from Muni riders and unexpectedly receiving millions in federal stimulus funds, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will still consider cutting bus service by 10 percent and raising the prices of monthly passes for seniors, youth and the disabled.

The agency released an ever-so-slightly revised plan Tuesday for cutting $16.9 million from its current-year operating budget, but it still contains the most controversial pieces of a Jan. 19 proposal that's been lambasted by riders and members of the Board of Supervisors.

"None of these are decisions we like to make," said Nathaniel Ford, executive director of the Municipal Transportation Agency. "But we have to make these difficult decisions to close this budget gap between now and June 30, as well as set ourselves up for fiscal years 2011 and 2012."

In addition to raising discounted monthly passes, currently $15, to $30, and increasing the wait time for virtually every bus and rail line, the proposal also continues to call for a premium monthly pass of $70 (compared to a regular pass of $60) for commuters riding express routes or cable cars. Oddly, the proposal still includes $700,000 in labor savings from work rule changes, even though Muni's drivers' union soundly rejected a cost-savings plan last week.

But the plan remains murky and in flux. Muni officials are:

-- investigating how much of the stimulus windfall can be spent to relieve the deficit;

-- still hoping for concessions from labor unions;

-- hoping that a plan to sell taxi medallions can raise $11.2 million before the end of June, and

-- still counting on $7 million in sales tax revenues that would need to be approved by the Board of Supervisors, acting as Transportation Authority commissioners.

Muni will get $17.5 million that was allotted to BART's Oakland Airport Connector project but withdrawn last week after federal transit officials withheld their approval. About $1.7 million of that will go toward operations. Another $4.8 million will go to preventive maintenance, and $11 million will be spent on rehabilitating light-rail cars. But some money could be redirected to cover operating deficits, agency spokesman Judson True said.

The budget-balancing plan also relies on receiving $7 million from the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, which oversees the city's transportation sales tax, to help ease the deficit. Ford told the authority board Tuesday that the money would be used to keep buses and trolleys in good repair. None of the money, he said, would go toward wages or benefits.

"At a time when we're talking about service reductions, it's going to be even more critical that the service that is out there is more reliable," Ford said.

Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi and David Campos made it clear that the money would not be disbursed without making sure it adheres to the agency's spending rules. They also want to get to the root of Muni's financial woes.

Campos wants to be certain "we have a full understanding whether the MTA board and the MTA staff have truly considered all options. ... I have to say I'm not entirely sure that has actually happened."

Nor are members of Rescue Muni, a riders group that has urged the agency to extend parking meter enforcement into the evenings and Sundays to boost revenue.

"Extended meter hours are a much better way to go than charging more for express buses and cable cars and raising the cost of passes for the youth, disabled and senior citizens," said Andrew Sullivan, a group spokesman.

Members of the city's Youth Commission rallied at City Hall on Tuesday against the monthly pass increases.

"This really goes after the most vulnerable; it's just too much," said Nicholas Quesada, chairman of the commission.

The agency's board is expected to drop the proposal to raise the charge for discounted passes - for now, at least. But the plan could be resurrected in months as the agency scrambles to close a $53 million deficit. Hearings on budgets for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 start Tuesday.